WVU Medicine’s Berkeley Medical Center has temporarily suspended use of its operating rooms due to flooding damage to the facility’s first floor.
WVU Medicine’s Berkeley Medical Center indefinitely suspended use of its operating rooms Tuesday.
The announcement followed severe flooding that wrought damage across the facility’s first floor, according to a Tuesday press release.
The facility will temporarily only admit trauma, obstetric and emergency surgery cases. It will refer patients with other medical needs to its Outpatient Surgery Center or the Jefferson Medical Center, which is located roughly 20 miles away.
To evaluate patient needs and coordinate facility referrals, Berkeley Medical Center has opened a new command center.
A timeline for the facility’s repair has not yet been announced.
On this West Virginia Morning, we hear from Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, on the efforts to rebuild the party and restore Democrats to state offices ahead of this primary election. Also, we hear about preservation efforts for a historic Black church in Harpers Ferry.
On this West Virginia Morning, while Republican candidates dominate the media leading up to next week’s primary election, there are also Democrats up and down the ballot running for state offices. Their campaign strategy, however, takes a different path.
Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, spoke with Randy Yohe on the efforts to rebuild the party and restore Democrats to state offices.
Also, in this show, Harpers Ferry is a hot spot for Black history in West Virginia. The town was home to a major abolitionist uprising, a Black civil rights conference and the historically Black Storer College.
But preserving the city’s historic sites requires upkeep. When the town’s residents saw a historic Black Baptist church falling into disrepair, the idea for a new preservation project was born.
Now, the project has received a $100,000 rehabilitation grant. Jack Walker spoke with Lynn Pechuekonis, incoming chair of the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation, about what’s in store for First Zion Baptist Church.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.
Chris Schulz produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Days before a West Virginia circuit court removed her from office, former Jefferson County Commissioner Jennifer Krouse unexpectedly left the Republican Party behind.
Elected as a “staunch, God-fearing conservative” in 2022, Krouse swapped political affiliations in late April and registered with the Mountain Party — West Virginia’s progressive, environmentalist affiliate of the Green Party.
Now, county officials and party representatives alike are scratching their heads over how to fill Krouse’s vacancy, and what party her replacement must come from.
A last-minute switch
Two members of the Jefferson County Commission — Krouse and state auditor candidate Tricia Jackson — were removed from office by order of a West Virginia circuit court Wednesday.
The commissioners skipped seven consecutive meetings from September to November 2023, protesting efforts to fill a vacant commission seat with candidates Krouse previously said were not “actual conservatives.”
A panel of judges ruled that this weeks-long protest amounted to “official misconduct” or a “neglect of duty,” as their absence prevented the commission from meeting quorum and conducting business.
But about one week before the court’s decision, Krouse switched political affiliations.
Under current West Virginia law, county commissioners have 30 days to fill vacant seats by a simple commission vote. Their appointee must be “a person of the same political party” as the individual who held office “immediately preceding the vacancy.”
This year, the West Virginia Legislature passed a bill amending this law so that appointees must be members of the vacating officer’s party upon election. Lawmakers repeatedly cited contentions over vacancy proceedings in the Jefferson County Commission while updating the policy.
But the new law does not take effect until January 2025, and the earlier policy still remains in place. That means Krouse’s successor must be a member of her party upon removal from office — the Mountain Party.
The Jefferson County Commission holds its public meeting May 2, the first meeting following the removal of former Commissioners Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse from office.
Photo Credit: Jefferson County Commission
Filling vacancies (again)
Stephen Stolipher, sitting president of the Jefferson County Commission and chair of the Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee, said he is unsure why Krouse switched parties.
“She certainly has never really acted like a Republican, [but] the Mountain Party is far, far left,” he said.
Mountain Party Chair Denise Binion is not sure either. She said the ousted commissioner’s “politics don’t match the party at all.”
Krouse did not respond to written requests for comment on this story. But her decision follows months of disputes with the local Republican party, and has implications for the selection of her successor.
As it currently stands, the three remaining members of the Jefferson County Commission have until May 31 to fill the vacancies through a majority vote.
Krouse’s vacancy must be filled by a member of the Mountain Party, and Jackson’s vacancy must be filled by a member of the Republican Party, per state law.
With a general election slated for this fall, these appointees would only hold office for a few months, according to Deak Kersey, chief of staff and former legal counsel for the West Virginia Secretary of State.
To keep their positions, appointed commissioners must be voted into office in the general election immediately following their appointment. Otherwise, Kersey said they only remain in office until the county certifies the results of its November general election, when new commissioners are elected.
But the future of the Jefferson County Commission is muddied by the possibility of a judge siding with Krouse or Jackson on appeal.
The Jefferson County Commission meets in the basement of the Charles Town Library.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A potential appeal
Jackson has already publicly stated that her attorney will appeal the circuit court’s decision to remove her from office.
If the appeal is rejected, vacancy proceedings will continue as usual, Kersey said. However, things are more complicated if a judge decides differently.
While awaiting a result on the appeal, a circuit court judge could suspend Krouse and Jackson’s removal from office, allowing them to return to work until the decision is finalized, Kersey said.
Alternatively, Kersey said that a judge siding with the commissioners after their vacancies have been filled would likely nullify any appointments, restoring Krouse and Jackson’s positions.
If such a decision came after the general election, things would become even more complex, and Kersey said it would likely require clarification from the state’s Supreme Court.
“The court would have to give some guidance to that effect, because it would have a lot of downstream impacts,” he said.
In this case, Kersey said the election results would most likely be nullified, allowing Krouse and Jackson to serve their original, full terms — until 2029 and 2026, respectively.
Kersey said that he is unsure how long the appeal process would take, as decisions vary on a case-by-case basis. But he said courts would likely reach a decision on a quickened timeline.
Courts “treat election issues expeditiously because of the fact that we have elections every two years,” he said. “You don’t want the government putting people in places for too long that weren’t elected by the people.”
In the coming weeks, Kersey said representatives from Secretary of State Mac Warner’s office will meet with members of the commission to offer guidance on filling the current vacancies.
In the meantime, Stolipher said the commission will continue to meet on its regular, biweekly basis.
“We currently have a quorum of three members,” he said. “We’re still meeting and conducting business.”
Two deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, marking the disease’s first documented occurrence in the park.
Two white-tailed deer have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, marking the first time the disease was detected in a West Virginia national park.
CWD affects several deer, elk and moose species across North America, and is fatal to infected animals, with no known cure or treatment.
There have been no reported instances of CWD infecting humans, but the World Health Organization advises against the consumption of CWD-infected animals.
All venison from the deer infected with CWD was destroyed, according to a Tuesday press release from the National Park Service (NPS).
NPS said it detected the instances of CWD during ongoing efforts to reduce deer populations “to protect and restore native plants, promote healthy and diverse forests and preserve historic landscapes.”
Similar deer population reduction efforts are being conducted in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., according to NPS.
In March, three white-tailed deer tested positive for CWD in Maryland’s Antietam National Battlefield and Monocacy National Battlefield, located less than 20 and 25 miles away, respectively.
This also marked the disease’s first documented occurrence in either battlefield, according to NPS.
CWD can cause “drastic weight loss, stumbling, listlessness and other neurological symptoms, though it can take more than a year for these symptoms to present, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The NPS will continue to participate in monitoring of collected deer for CWD and will destroy venison testing positive for CWD,” NPS said. “If you see sick or dead wildlife, avoid contact with the animal and notify a National Park Service employee as soon as possible.”
Domestic violence prevention nonprofits have not received a state budget increase since 2009. Advocates hope a special session of the West Virginia Legislature could change that.
Tucked away on a side street of downtown Martinsburg, the Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center (EPEC) is a domestic violence prevention nonprofit serving Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson counties.
EPEC was founded in 1977 and expanded with time. Ten years ago, Executive Director Katie Spriggs said the EPEC served 250 people annually. Now, it serves more than 1,400 people each year.
Visits to EPEC may be on the rise, but Spriggs said funding has not increased sufficiently to meet them.
Looking at EPEC’s first-floor office it immediately becomes clear. Each day, staff members squeeze into corners of the room with laptops and cell phones in hand.
“We have probably on an average day 12 people that work out of this office, so it’s not large enough,” Spriggs said.
According to Spriggs, moving out of EPEC’s apartment-turned-office into a larger space would bring benefits. But a potential move and the expansion of current EPEC services are constrained by the same factor: the budget.
“We’re kind of stuck,” she said. “We haven’t seen an increase in so long that it’s really difficult to make the budget work every year.”
In West Virginia, domestic violence prevention nonprofits receive funding through a variety of sources, like private donations, federal grants and a line item included annually in the state budget.
But the state has not boosted that line item since May 2009, even as the cost of living has risen.
In recent years, Gov. Jim Justice has pursued a flat budget, which means freezing state spending so it stays the same each year. While surplus funds get redistributed, they do not supplement every budget item.
Continuing to provide resources to survivors of domestic violence requires reliable funding on the state level, she said.
Katie Spriggs, executive director of the Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center, is in the process of digitizing decades of the center’s paper records.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Sara Belvins O’Toole, director of development at Huntington’s Branches Domestic Violence Shelter, said part of the need for additional funding stems from changing conversations around domestic violence prevention.
In the early days, Belvins O’Toole said advocates were focused primarily on removing individuals from crisis situations.
They now understand helping people stay away from abusive relationships requires more holistic assistance, she said.
“People who are just plopped out of a situation and put into another environment don’t have the resources and the skills and the support that they need to actually stay away from a person that was violent in their life,” Belvins O’Toole said. “Especially if that person was in control of the finances.”
Approaching domestic violence on a holistic level means considering other factors that put survivors at risk, like housing insecurity and child care needs.
“We have to do a little bit of that other work like housing advocacy, like legal advocacy — all of those things that are providing support,” Belvins O’Toole said. “It’s not about just getting somebody out of crisis anymore. It’s about supporting them into a life free from violence.”
But this is easier said than done. Joyce Yedlsoky, team coordinator at the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WVCADV), said that the state’s flat budget has also affected separate nonprofits that address these needs directly.
In turn, she said domestic violence prevention advocates must wear multiple hats, spreading their time and funding thinner.
The budget “being able to account for other aspects that survivors need” is important as well, she said.
Through the WVCADV, Yedlosky works with the 14 licensed domestic violence prevention nonprofits located across West Virginia. In February, she helped arrange a visit to the State Capitol featuring representatives from each of these organizations.
The advocates lined the Capitol’s lower rotunda with tables, passing out stickers and informational flyers to visitors and lawmakers alike.
Yedlosky also took the time to speak with lawmakers about the nonprofits’ current financial needs, and said they were generally supportive of securing new funds.
But, since then, Yedlosky said lines of communication between lawmakers and the nonprofits have all but closed.
“Since the session ended, we haven’t heard from lawmakers specifically around our funding,” she said.
Staff members Katie Brougham, Serena Hemple and Foxfire Formoso (from left) stand in the entryway of the Eastern Panhandle Empowerment Center.
Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
By the time this year’s regular session of the West Virginia Legislature ended, no budget line increases for domestic violence nonprofits had been passed. New funding for services like child care were also left out entirely.
Still, this year’s budget is not completely settled. Gov. Jim Justice has expressed disapproval of some funding omissions from this year’s budget, and in March announced plans to call a special legislative session to reconsider the budget.
Justice said he plans to hold the session by May 14, the state’s primary election. Members of the Legislature’s leadership have indicated they would prefer for the session to coincide with interim meetings beginning May 19.
In a dream scenario, Yedlosky said she would like to see a $500,000 cost-of-living increase to the state’s funding for domestic violence nonprofits, which currently sits at $2.5 million split annually between all 14 licensed organizations.
But Yedlosky said she’s not holding her breath for what the special session will bring.
“To be honest, I don’t think that that’s on the table for the special session,” she said. “It would be really nice if it was.”
Instead, Yedlosky said she hopes that lawmakers will reverse course and provide new funding to other services like child care.
“I do believe if they reinstate back some of the huge cuts that they made, that’s also going to help survivors,” she said. “That’s my hope.”
Back in the Eastern Panhandle, Spriggs echoed Yedlosky’s calls for a cost-of-living budget increase. She described an increase like this as a critical way to reduce the risks that survivors of domestic violence face across the state.
“A line item increase on the state budget would not only keep the lights on and give us a foundation to grow on,” she said. “It would also prevent violence. A lot of violence.”
For more information on domestic violence prevention resources in West Virginia, visit the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s website.
On this West Virginia Morning, domestic violence prevention advocates lined the State Capitol rotunda in February, seeking a budget increase. They said lawmakers were receptive to the idea. But no increase was passed before this year’s regular legislative session ended. Jack Walker checked in with domestic violence prevention advocates on funding needs as a potential special session approaches.
On this West Virginia Morning, domestic violence prevention advocates lined the State Capitol rotunda in February, seeking a budget increase. They said lawmakers were receptive to the idea. But no increase was passed before this year’s regular legislative session ended. Jack Walker checked in with domestic violence prevention advocates on funding needs as a potential special session approaches.
Also, in this show, Central Appalachia is home to 16 state and federal prisons. Now, federal officials are considering adding a medium security prison in Letcher County. But as the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting’s Jared Bennett tells — the project is also drawing opposition from activists from across the country.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.
Emily Rice produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
